whatever_andra's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
gitanita's review
5.0
Gaskell was, in her own time, famous for tackling topics that were just not talked about. She did it in tackling the topic of poverty and lack of any rights whatsoever of the working class in the industrially developing UK in her novel North&South, and she did it here with the topic of "fallen women". I have read somewhere that, after publishing this book, even some of her friends refused to associate with her. That alone shows how sensitive the topic really was.
The story is about a 16-year old Ruth, who, early in life, lost both her parents and is now working as an apprentice to a seamstress. She meets a young man, Mr. Bellingham, of a higher social class, who sets his eyes on her and goes on a mission to get her. Ruth falls in love and while one day taking a walk with him, encounters her boss, who immediately dismisses her (just because Ruth was in a company of a man). Mr. Bellingham convinces her to come with him to Wales as his companion. They spend some time there and Mr. Bellingham falls ill. His mother takes him home, leaving Ruth behind under accusations that she seduced him. Ruth almost commits suicide, but is saved by Mr. Benson, who, along with his sister takes her under his protection. We later find out Ruth is pregnant, and that is when the real story starts.
The story spans through several years. The Benson invent a new identity for Ruth, that of a young widow, because they know she would otherwise be shunned by society. Eventually the truth is out and Ruth and her son become pariahs, but their characters and good deeds redeem them in the eyes of the unforgiving society.
This was a very dangerous topic to openly talk about back then, and I applaud Gaskell for her bravery. It was generally thought that women were always the ones who seduced the men, and they ended up being pariahs. It's really infuriating and I felt a lot of anger reading this book. At 16 and without proper guidance, you can't decide well for yourself, but at 23 (Mr. Bellingham), and being already in the world, you certainly can discern right from wrong if you want to. So, he practically destroyed her life, making her a liar, and she was accused and sentenced as the culpable one, while he went about living his life, unknown to the world as her "partner in crime". After reading this book, I am so glad, I live in this day and age, where a woman can make mistakes (because we all make mistakes) and can be a single parent and be respected in the world.
The story is about a 16-year old Ruth, who, early in life, lost both her parents and is now working as an apprentice to a seamstress. She meets a young man, Mr. Bellingham, of a higher social class, who sets his eyes on her and goes on a mission to get her. Ruth falls in love and while one day taking a walk with him, encounters her boss, who immediately dismisses her (just because Ruth was in a company of a man). Mr. Bellingham convinces her to come with him to Wales as his companion. They spend some time there and Mr. Bellingham falls ill. His mother takes him home, leaving Ruth behind under accusations that she seduced him. Ruth almost commits suicide, but is saved by Mr. Benson, who, along with his sister takes her under his protection. We later find out Ruth is pregnant, and that is when the real story starts.
The story spans through several years. The Benson invent a new identity for Ruth, that of a young widow, because they know she would otherwise be shunned by society. Eventually the truth is out and Ruth and her son become pariahs, but their characters and good deeds redeem them in the eyes of the unforgiving society.
This was a very dangerous topic to openly talk about back then, and I applaud Gaskell for her bravery. It was generally thought that women were always the ones who seduced the men, and they ended up being pariahs. It's really infuriating and I felt a lot of anger reading this book. At 16 and without proper guidance, you can't decide well for yourself, but at 23 (Mr. Bellingham), and being already in the world, you certainly can discern right from wrong if you want to. So, he practically destroyed her life, making her a liar, and she was accused and sentenced as the culpable one, while he went about living his life, unknown to the world as her "partner in crime". After reading this book, I am so glad, I live in this day and age, where a woman can make mistakes (because we all make mistakes) and can be a single parent and be respected in the world.
minnavia's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
amberb41's review
4.0
One of the first feminist books and so sad. We have come far in 170 years and yet hardly moved forward at all. Still to this day do teenager mothers bear all of the shame and guilt whilst the fathers have zero consequences. What is worse is this father is a grown man of luxury and privilege while the mother is a orphan child in poverty. It's sad that in 2023, given the same set of circumstances that the outcome would basically be the same.
rosieannereads's review against another edition
4.0
i my spare time, i like to cry about victorian lit
kristinana's review
3.0
It's funny; Gaskell's novels seems to me to be what everyone thinks of as a "Victorian novel," and yet she is not really read or taught widely. Just a thought.
Unlike some of the other readers, I did not love the character of Ruth. A lot of people say that Victorian heroines are always too good to be true, and I can see that point, but Ruth seriously is too good... in my opinion, too good to be very attached to as a reader. The narrator and Mr. Benson keep saying she has faults, but her faults seem to be that she is too proud to accept gifts or handouts and that she is overprotective of her son. These are the kinds of faults that you give when you're asked on your job interview what your shortcomings are -- they are, in a sense, strengths disguised as faults.
(Or maybe one reason I don't like Ruth as a character, though, is because of her masochistic insistence on beating herself up over one mistake, a trait that is uncomfortably familiar to me.)
Of course, her real fault is that she is a "fallen woman," which is exactly why Gaskell made her so unrealistically good and pure -- she had to make Ruth perfect in order to show that she was unfairly punished for one mistake she made in her youth. I understand this, but it makes it hard for me, as a modern reader, to be interested in her as a character. My favorite characters are Jemima, Ruth's younger, more rebellious, more flawed friend, and Sally, the housekeeper who seems a bit like a Dickens character.
One thing that was really interesting about this particular fallen woman story, though, is that Ruth is not raped (like Tess), nor is she flirtatious (like Hetty Sorrel). She seems to really love Bellingham at the beginning, and though Gaskell does hint that Ruth's romantic fantasies are part of her mistake, she is not a silly girl, only innocent. Ruth really doesn't seem to see anything wrong with living with Bellingham as a "kept" woman until other people make her feel it's wrong, and she never suggests or seems to think they will marry. In addition, unlike Hetty, Ruth is able to be taken back into society in a way -- though certainly she can never have another sexual or romantic relationship. In her own way, Gaskell makes a stronger case for the "fallen woman" than Eliot or Hardy, despite the fact that the latter two are (arguably, I suppose) superior stylists. (Well, and Hetty is, to me, a more interesting character because of her flaws -- and especially her crime.)
Another interesting thing is to see the various jobs Ruth has in her life; she is a seamstress, a governess, and a nurse. At one point, she loses her job and Jemima wonders how Ruth will support her son. I've said it before and I'll say it again: anyone who thinks the working woman or single mother is a modern phenomenon has never read 19th century novels or nonfiction.
This isn't my favorite Gaskell, but I enjoyed it.
Unlike some of the other readers, I did not love the character of Ruth. A lot of people say that Victorian heroines are always too good to be true, and I can see that point, but Ruth seriously is too good... in my opinion, too good to be very attached to as a reader. The narrator and Mr. Benson keep saying she has faults, but her faults seem to be that she is too proud to accept gifts or handouts and that she is overprotective of her son. These are the kinds of faults that you give when you're asked on your job interview what your shortcomings are -- they are, in a sense, strengths disguised as faults.
(Or maybe one reason I don't like Ruth as a character, though, is because of her masochistic insistence on beating herself up over one mistake, a trait that is uncomfortably familiar to me.)
Of course, her real fault is that she is a "fallen woman," which is exactly why Gaskell made her so unrealistically good and pure -- she had to make Ruth perfect in order to show that she was unfairly punished for one mistake she made in her youth. I understand this, but it makes it hard for me, as a modern reader, to be interested in her as a character. My favorite characters are Jemima, Ruth's younger, more rebellious, more flawed friend, and Sally, the housekeeper who seems a bit like a Dickens character.
One thing that was really interesting about this particular fallen woman story, though, is that Ruth is not raped (like Tess), nor is she flirtatious (like Hetty Sorrel). She seems to really love Bellingham at the beginning, and though Gaskell does hint that Ruth's romantic fantasies are part of her mistake, she is not a silly girl, only innocent. Ruth really doesn't seem to see anything wrong with living with Bellingham as a "kept" woman until other people make her feel it's wrong, and she never suggests or seems to think they will marry. In addition, unlike Hetty, Ruth is able to be taken back into society in a way -- though certainly she can never have another sexual or romantic relationship. In her own way, Gaskell makes a stronger case for the "fallen woman" than Eliot or Hardy, despite the fact that the latter two are (arguably, I suppose) superior stylists. (Well, and Hetty is, to me, a more interesting character because of her flaws -- and especially her crime.)
Another interesting thing is to see the various jobs Ruth has in her life; she is a seamstress, a governess, and a nurse. At one point, she loses her job and Jemima wonders how Ruth will support her son. I've said it before and I'll say it again: anyone who thinks the working woman or single mother is a modern phenomenon has never read 19th century novels or nonfiction.
This isn't my favorite Gaskell, but I enjoyed it.
minimoo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
beltorres91's review
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0